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Just ahead of the madness that is soon to be CES, FujiFilm has made several new digital camera announcements. Most notable among them is the new 26x optical zoom X-S1. Featuring a 2/3-inch 12-megapixel EXR CMOS sensor, the superzoom camera has a bridge model body (styled after a DSLR) but is more compact and lightweight. As for the optics, the X-S1 boasts a new all glass FUJINON F2.8-5.6 lens and 26x optical zoom (24-624mm). The X-S1 also features a 1.4 million dot electronic viewfinder (EVF) and a 3.-inch titling LCD display with “Monitor Sunlight Mode” for shooting in bright sunlight. It also shoots in RAW, JPEG or RAW and JPEG simultaneously, and features an Auto ISO range of 100-3200 with manual control up to ISO 12800. The Fuji X-S1 will be available at the end of January for $799.95.

Additionally, FujiFilm has unveiled three new speedy S-series compact cameras: FinePix S4200, S4500 and SL300; two new FinePix T-Series ultra-compact long-zoom cameras: FinePix T400 and T350; FinePix HS30EXR and HS25EXR; the all new rugged and durable FinePix XP150, XP100 and XP50 for outdoor shooting; three easy-to-use point-and-shoots: JX580, JX500 and AX550; and three new additions to the high-end, compact long-zoom FinePix F-Series: F770EXR (with GPS), F750EXR and F660EXR.

Samsung‘s DualView camera lineup has been increasingly gaining in popularity over the past couple of years (see DP’s review of the DualView TL225 here), due in large part to the namesake feature: the dual (front and back) LCD screens. Like its predecessors, the newly announced Samsung DV300F features a 1.5-inch front LCD that allows you to see a live view of what the lens sees, in order to get a perfectly framed self-portrait or couples’ travel shot. What at first seemed like a gimmick for the Facebook era narcissist in us all, the DualView has quickly been embraced as a convenient staple point-and-shoot feature.

Much the same, consumers who are used to the immediacy of sharing the images they capture on smart phones have come to expect the same sharing capabilities from digital cameras. Reacting to that consumer demand, the Samsung DV300F is the first DualView model to offer WiFi connectivity. “The camera’s built-in Wi-Fi connectivity enables users to email their images or upload them to social media sites including Facebook, Picasa, Flickr and YouTube. In addition, images saved onto the camera’s microSD memory card, can be saved to a home PC without wires, by using the Auto PC Backup function. Cloud services, including Samsung’s AllShare Play and Microsoft SkyDrive, allows users to store and share their precious pictures from anywhere,” according to Samsung.

The 16-megapixel CCD sensor Samsung DV300F will be available in March for an estimated $199.